Paletteful Packs is a carefully-themed selection of art supplies for artists of every skill level and all ages. Every box will include a variety of media. Products include paint, pens, pencils, brushes, markers, and more! There are 3 different pack options including:
- Petite Pack: 4+ artist quality supplies per box for $24.95/month
- Premier Pack: 5+ artist quality supplies per box for $35.95/month
- Young Artist: for ages 8 and up, 4+ items per box for $30.95/month
This review is for the $35.95/month Premier Pack.
This box was sent to us at no cost to review. (Check out the review processes post to learn more about how we review boxes).
About Paletteful Packs
The Subscription Box: Paletteful Packs
The Cost: $35.95 per month + free shipping (save with longer commitments)
ACTIVE DEAL: Save 10% off your first box!
CODE: FIRSTMONTH10
The Products: Carefully-selected art supplies are provided to create a unique project
Ships to: the US for free, Canada for $10, and International for $15
Paletteful Packs August 2019 Review
This month’s theme is pencil palooza! Paletteful Packs Premier includes enough supplies to create 25 pencil drawings!
Each month you receive a content list with detailed descriptions, retail values, and helpful tips to get the most out of your box. I’m really happy this is included because once in a while I’m not sure what a particular item is supposed to be used for!
The back of this card includes the continued list of items, and the August 2019 Paletteful Packs Prompt and Challenge. If you make a drawing based on your interpretation of the prompt and post it to social media you can be featured on their social media page! This month they are looking for still life, heroes and villains, the year 3000, and summer.
Wolff’s Carbon Pencils: B, 2B, 4B, and 6B - Listed Value $14.95, Retail Value $7.63
Check out these pencils! They are both graphite and carbon, so they have a fine grain with consistent texture, and allow you to draw velvety black lines with no hard spots. I definitely found this to be true while doing my sketch. I’ve got to say these are the fanciest pencils I have ever used, and I can’t wait to create more with them!
Art Alternatives Woodless Graphite Set - Listed Value $12.95, Retail Value $19.99
I have to retract my previous comments - now these woodless graphite pencils are the fanciest pencils I have ever used! And check out the storage tin they come with! This set includes 6 pencils made from pure graphite and fine clays with a lacquered exterior to keep your hands clean. We received 2 pencils in each of the 3 soft grades (2B, 4B, and 6B.) And while they feel like glass, they can be sharpened like a regular pencil! I really enjoyed drawing with these, although I did find them to be slightly slippery.
All Stabilo Multi-Surface Graphite Pencil - Listed Value $1.60, Retail Value $1.06
Next up is this water-soluble pencil that writes clearly on any surface including acetate, paper, glass, metal, photo, and film. It wipes off with a damp cloth on smooth surfaces, and erases on paper. I really like how it writes and feels in my hand. I will definitely be reaching for this one on my next sketch!
General’s Layout Pencil, Extra Black - Listed Value $0.79, Retail Value $1.00
This pencil has a very soft lead that is equivalent to a 6B. It works well for art, sketching, and layout work. I used this to draw the rough sketch of my butterfly and it worked great.
General’s Draughting Pencil - Listed Value $0.81, Retail Value $0.67
Honestly I didn’t know there were so many different kinds of pencils, but here we have a draughting pencil that features a smooth, thick core, and extra soft, 2B graphite lead. It is best used for sketching, layouts, drawing, shading, highlighting, and detailing. It fit in my hand nicely and didn’t seem slippery.
Bee Stipple Textured Paper - 9X12 - Listed Value $14.95, Retail Value $9.99
This acid-free 132 lb heavyweight paper is textured with a pebble-like surface for shading and blending. It works great with all of the included pencils, and is great for sketching! It really adds dimension, and says it is ideal for designing tattoos!
Art Alternatives Blending Stumps #5 - Listed Value, $2.55, Retail Value $3.15
I have never used a blending stump before, but I have discovered them to be very useful! I used it quite a bit on my butterfly piece, and will continue using it for pencil drawings from now on!
Faber-Castell Kneaded Eraser - Listed Value $1.17, Retail Value $0.62
This funny little eraser feels slightly like clay! It is moldable and works really well to erase unwanted pencil marks. I’m probably not advanced enough as an artist to need this, but it is really cool!
Mars Plastic Eraser - Listed Value $1.37, Listed Value $1.99
I also didn’t realize they made so many different erasers! This particular one has sharp edges for precision erasing and highlighting. I had a lot of fun with this!
Paletteful Packs Pencil Case - Listed Value $5.45
Our last item in this box is this Paletteful Packs Pencil Case. It is made of a durable felt fabric and honestly feels like it will last forever. It is really thick so the pencils won’t be poking holes or tearing through it. I like that it holds all of this month's included supplies (except the paper of course).
Here are all of the included pencils swatched. It is interesting to see how different the grades actually are when you write with them side by side.
Pencil Sketch: Butterfly
Here I loosely sketched the outline of a butterfly. I had to use the included erasers because I was struggling with creating wings that matched. I played around with the smaller grade pencils for a thinner outline.
Here I had finished the butterfly. I tried out the blending stumps to deepen the contrast, and it worked well.
And here is the finished product. My family and I raised over 20 monarch butterflies from eggs to butterflies this summer, so they have a special place in my heart. While this isn’t a Monarch, I think it turned out okay anyways! I really liked the graphite and carbon pencils to get the deep black coloring. It was a lot easier to control than charcoal, but with the same results.
The Verdict: Every month I look forward to Paletteful Packs, and this month was no exception. The only pencil sketches I have created before this box involved the ever so popular #2 pencil, so this was quite an experience! I had a really great time trying out all of these products and learned a lot. I can’t wait to play around a little more and advance my skills as an artist!
This subscription costs $35.95 a month. The content card shows a retail value of $51.14 in this box. I found everything online for around $50.00, which is pretty close to retail value, and more than the subscription cost! I do want to mention that if you were to purchase everything individually you would likely spend more than this in shipping costs, and they do such a wonderful job curating this box that it really gives you an experience that is priceless.
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? No, you'll receive the September box.
ACTIVE DEAL: Save 10% off your first box!
CODE: FIRSTMONTH10
Value Breakdown: At $35.95 for the box including 10 unique items, you’re paying approximately $3.56 per item.
Check out all of our Paletteful Packs reviews and the best arts & crafts subscription boxes of 2019!
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What did you think of the Paletteful Packs August box? What would you create?
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